Posts Tagged ‘Midnight Oil’

This week marked the end of the very long running ‘Late Show with David Letterman’. One of the regular features that made the show so appealing was the regular world class musical acts that played. About a dozen Australian acts were fortunate enough to perform on the show over the years and we kick off the show this week with recordings of three of the featured acts – INXS, Midnight Oil and The Vines!

Our musical guest this week is Adelaide-based acoustic musician Tom West! Only a year ago Tom made the courageous decision to leave a career as a lawyer to pursue his music full-time and this has led to his first mini show-case tour of some key Canadian cities. Tune in to hear three wonderful acoustic tracks and Tom chatting about his songwriting process.

Today’s special guest, Shaun Mason – aka Dumb Angel – calls all the way from Saskatoon, Sk! Dumb Angel plays atmospheric, layered music that is self-described as ‘spacey, melodic and confessional’ (Videos and Venues blog). Shaun speaks of the Prairie origins and initial Beach-Boys inspiration of his project, as well as his time in Montreal where he first connected with Matt and Rick from The Eternal Husbands. You can hear tracks from the brand new Dumb Angel record called ‘Broken Glass’ (out now on Clamour Records), as well as Shaun’s recommendations of other great Saskatoon bands.

Thanks to everyone who phoned through and donated to the 2014 CiTR Radio Fundrive! Graham won two tickets to see Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds in Vancouver this coming June, Val won the New Zealand poetry book and Kate walked away with a neat CD pack!

The world of music has changed considerably since the early 2000s. No longer does it make sense for independent artists to wait expectantly for a major label to scoop them up and transform their lives. Rather, it is crucial for independent artists to utilize the great tools available on the world wide web, and to build a trustworthy support team. Today on the show, music publisher Steve Thompson educates us about the importance of artists attending to the administrative side of their music so that they can benefit from revenue streams that come from registration with SOCAN.

Hip-Hop artist Miss Ekko 1 phones through as well to give her opinion on having a music publisher as a component of an independent artist’s team. Miss Ekko 1 is not only passionate about her art, but also for supporting her peers in a myriad of ways, including educating them about their rights.

And we wrap up the show with tracks from three of our favorite local artists, including Jeff Johnson’s longstanding project OK Vancouver OK, who are releasing their ‘Food, Shelter, Water’ LP this weekend!

*Featuring tracks from Midnight Oil and Part 1 of an interview with First Nations singer-songwriter Dom Amero from Winnipeg *

Iconic British folk singer and activist Billy Bragg, will soon be joining the panel discussion on the ABC TV Q&A program, along with some Australian politicians, including Peter Garret, former lead singer of Midnight Oil and Senator for the Labor Patty. Bragg and Garrett are both known for their outspoken views on progressive political issues, so this show is sure to provide a thought-provoking exchange. Today we air some Midnight Oil tracks spanning from the self-titled record of 1978 through to 1998′s ‘Redneck Wonderland’ record. Following this is Billy Bragg, performing a live version of a rare song by Weddings Parties Anything.

Don Amero is a fine example of the new generation of hard-working independent Canadian First Nations singer-songwriters who are building solidarity through quality record releases and widespread touring. This week I was fortunate to receive an advance copy of Amero’s most recent album ‘Heart On My Sleeve’, which contains a set of subtle acoustic tunes that sprung from a burst of inspiration following the birth of his child. Today on show I speak with Amero about his journey from a difficult upbringing in Winnipeg to his life-altering decision to purse music full time, and the growing movement of Aboriginal artists to connecting internationally.